Building system control utilizing building occupancy

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods that can utilize the detection of human occupancy without fiducial elements to control an environmental, security, or other system within a structure. The systems and method can initiate communication to a human user directly, and can alter their operation based on human presence.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part (CIP) of U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 15/600,380, filed May 19, 2017, which is aContinuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 15/227,717,filed Aug. 3, 2016 and now U.S. Pat. No. 9,693,195, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/252,954, filedNov. 9, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/219,457,filed Sep. 16, 2015 and which is a Continuation of U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 15/084,002, filed Mar. 29, 2016 and now U.S. Pat.No. 9,474,042, which application, in turn, also claims benefit of theabove-referenced provisional applications. The entire disclosure of allof the above documents is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure is related to the field of localized control, and moreparticularly to systems and methods which allow for localized control ofsystems for a building or structure based on the determination of thepresence of humans within the structure without the use of fiducialelements representing the user.

2. Description of the Related Art

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), which generally refers to theinclusion of “smart” devices into everyday objects, has led to rapidgrowth in the area of automation technologies for the home or office.The thermostat can now control temperature based on when it expects theuser to be home and lights can be turned on and off remotely.

A problem with home and office automation and integration of IoT devicesinto living spaces, however, is that they require a human/machine“interface” to allow the human and machine to communicate. The interfaceis effectively a device to act as a translator between human andmachine. The interface, in most cases, is a smartphone or othergeneral-purpose computing device. Additionally, since the interactionsoccur through the smartphone, the smartphone is also often used by thesystems as a fiducial element, an easy to identify “marker”,representing the human user.

While the average human spends almost one-third of their time on theirsmartphone (as much as they spend sleeping in many cases), it is notreally an ideal device to use to control their home or to controlsystems within a structure. It is also not ideal to use any device as afiducial element to represent the human user to the system. However,because humans have not been able to effectively interface directly withmachines, there has been a need in the industry to have some form ofinterface between the human user and the IoT devices that make up homeautomation systems and to identify humans using a fiducial element.Thus, with the proliferation of smartphones and similar devices that arewith humans a large percentage of the time, the smartphone has become adefault interface precisely because it works so well as a fiducialelement (due to it being commonly carried on the human's person). Toattempt to make home automation and other IoT devices more accessible toa human user and to decrease screen time and smartphone use, recenttechnology has tried to replace the smartphone with translator systemsthat are not carried on the person.

Voice recognition systems, or voice gateways, are currently usedalongside other IoT devices to provide users the ability to commandtheir devices to perform certain functions with spoken (or othersimilar) commands instead of having to utilize interfaces which requiretactile manipulation such as screen based devices like smartphones whichgenerally have to be on the user's person. As such, voice gatewaysprovide for a very intuitive more remote interaction between the personwith their home do not have to be carried with the person. The usersimply asks the voice recognition unit to do something. The voicegateway “hears” this request and responds by sending instructions to theappropriately interconnected system to do it. This technology has beenproliferated by the likes of Amazon (with Alexa), Google (with GoogleHome), Apple (with Siri), and Microsoft (with Cortana) to attempt tomake human/machine interaction more natural.

One glaring problem with these systems, however, is that the interactionand translation is only one-way with the voice control system receivinginstructions and sending machine-formatted commands to the IoT devicesand speaking to a human user in the form of a response only. To initiatecommunication, electronic systems have still typically required atranslator carried on the person. This has traditionally still been theuser's smartphone even when voice response systems are available.

The need for the artificial interface carried on the person arisesprimarily because non-human systems have previously been unable tolocate humans and to differentiate humans from other “things” within aspace or from each other. Basically, an interaction system, such as avoice response system, that is not carried on the person does not knowif a user is home until the user tells the interaction system they arehome, and that is usually done via a command to do something, or until afiducial element “proxy” for the user is detected in the space.

It should be apparent that in current human/machine interaction, thehuman is forced to have a fiducial element representative of them toallow for the system to initiate communication with the human user.Further, as the human needs to be able to respond to the machine shouldthe machine contact the fiducial element, the fiducial elementeffectively needs to act as the translator for them. Thus, while voiceresponse systems and other human/machine communication systems that arenot carried on the person provide for an alternative communicationmethod, they are effectively redundant to a fiducial elementcommunication system which is still required for effective machineinitiated communication.

Thus, the human/machine communication becomes limited by requiring themachine to initiate communication with a human by initiatingcommunication to the fiducial element acting as a “proxy” for the human.Even if the communication does not go through the fiducial element, thefiducial element is necessary to be that “proxy” to allow the human tobe located. This creates a major problem as the system cannot act basedon the presence of humans, it can only react based on the presence ofhuman proxies and that has severely limited the types and capabilitiesof systems that interact with humans.

There has been some attempts to eliminate the problem of needing a proxyand detect human presence generally through the use of motion detectors.The problem with these systems is that they are generally effective atdetermining when there is or is not some human presence, but aregenerally unable to detect a level of human presence. For example, amotion detector in a house can determine that someone is in the house,(so long as they have walked within its sensing area) but it cannotdetermine who is in the house, how many people are in the house, or whythey are in the house. Thus, a motion detector controlling a thermostat,for example, can only turn environmental systems on and off, it cannotalter temperature based on how many people are home, which people arehome, or if there is some other factor related to the buildingoccupancy. For this, the system has required a human proxy.

To the extent that a machine relies upon talking to the interface as a“proxy” to talking with the human user, someone who wishes to pose asthe human user simply needs to obtain this interface to do so and thiscreates a security risk. To deal with this problem, the solution hastypically been to institute security systems on the fiducial element tomake it only active (or allow it to carry out certain actions) when ithas been linked to the correct human user. Unlocking screens and allforms of passwords or other remembered patterns that are integrated intosmartphones are designed to make sure that the human using the device isthe human who is supposed to be.

These systems, however, all have the same problem. If the connectionbetween the fiducial element and the human user can be falsified, othermachines will mistake the fiducial element as representative of thecorrect human user even though it is not. The problem of identity theftprimarily exists because of precisely this problem and is becoming moreprevalent because of the increasing reliance of human proxies. Further,a human user lacking the fiducial element is generally missed by amachine system that is reliant on them. Machines have typically beenvery good at identifying specific machines, but not very good andidentifying humans, while humans generally have the opposite condition.Thus, systems which utilize smartphones as proxies for humans areeffective at estimating that there is some human presence, but areineffective for situations where a binary yes/no is problematic. Forexample, such systems are typically terrible at identifying the presenceof small children as such children rarely have smartphones.

The general problem is that a traditional machine system must make oneassumption. The assumption is that the authorized user is in proximityto the fiducial element which is the translator. It then uses theassumption of that proximity to position the user in space based on theposition of the fiducial element and provides communication via thetranslator, instead of directly to the system. If this assumption istrue, then the system can react to individuals.

This assumption, however, is much like a “you are here” sign. The signactually tells the user the sign's location, which, because the user isproximate the sign in order to read it, it also generally is the user'sposition. However, as is a common source of comedy, moving the sign orviewing it in a non-proximate fashion makes it make no sense. Thus,user's have been forced to accept machine controlled systems that canonly react in a binary on-off fashion, or are forced to utilize anelectronic proxy on their person.

SUMMARY

The following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. The sole purpose of this sectionis to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Because of these and other problems in the art, it is desirable to allowfor human/machine interaction without reliance on a fiducial elementacting as a proxy for a human and needing to act as the point of contactfor machine initiated communication. Instead, the systems and methodsdiscussed herein provide for control by allowing a machine to usedetected human occupancy of a building to initiate communication to auser or alter systems.

This improved effectiveness allows for machine systems which can operatein ways that proxy systems cannot. Specifically, they can react to humanoccupancy.

Described herein, among other things, is a system and method forcontrolling a system based on occupancy of a structure, the methodcomprising: locating a first human in a first space within a structureby detecting the first human's presence in the first space, the firsthuman's detected location not corresponding to the location of afiducial element carried by the first human acting as a proxy for thefirst human; locating a second human in the first space within astructure by detecting the second human's presence in the first space,the second human's detected location not corresponding to the locationof a fiducial element carried by the second human acting as a proxy forthe second human; instructing a system to take a first action based onthe first human's and the second human's location in the first space;tracking movement of the first human from the first space to a secondspace within the structure the tracking not corresponding to trackingthe location of a fiducial element carried by the first human acting asa proxy for the first human; determining that the second human'slocation is still in the first space, the determining not correspondingto locating a fiducial element carried by the second human acting as aproxy for the second human; and altering the instruction based on thefirst human being in the second space and the second human being in thefirst space.

In an embodiment of this method, the controlled system is anenvironmental control system of the structure.

In an embodiment of this method, the instruction comprises instructingthe environmental control system to alter an environment within thefirst space without instructing the environmental control system toalter an environment in the second space.

In an embodiment of this method, the altering of the instructioncomprises instructing the environmental control system to alter anenvironment within the second space without instructing theenvironmental control system to further alter the environment in thefirst space.

In an embodiment of this method, upon the first human entering thesecond space, a voice response system issues a query audible in thesecond space but not in the first space.

In an embodiment of this method, the altering of instruction only occursif the first human and not the second human responds to the query.

In an embodiment, this method further comprises tracking movement of thefirst human from the second space to the first space within thestructure the tracking not corresponding to tracking the location of afiducial element carried by the first human acting as a proxy for thefirst human; determining that the second human's location is still inthe first space, the determining not corresponding to locating afiducial element carried by the second human acting as a proxy for thesecond human; and altering the instruction based on the first humanreturning to the first space and the second human remaining in the firstspace.

In an embodiment of this method, the instruction is altered by the firsthuman returning to the first space to the instruction before theinstruction was altered by the first human being in the second space.

In an embodiment of this method, the instruction is altered only afterthe first human has remained in the second space for a predeterminedperiod of time.

In an embodiment of this method, the controlled system comprises asecurity system wherein said security system indicates an intrusion intosaid first space or said second space by a third human different fromsaid first human or said second human.

There is also described herein a system and method for controlling asystem based on occupancy of a structure, the method comprising:locating a first human in a first space within a structure by detectingthe first human's presence in the first space, the first human'sdetected location not corresponding to the location of a fiducialelement carried by the first human acting as a proxy for the firsthuman; locating a second human in a second space within a structure bydetecting the second human's presence in the second space, the secondhuman's detected location not corresponding to the location of afiducial element carried by the second human acting as a proxy for thesecond human; instructing a system to take a first action based on thefirst human's location in the first space and the second human'slocation in the second space; tracking movement of the first human fromthe first space to the second space the tracking not corresponding totracking the location of a fiducial element carried by the first humanacting as a proxy for the first human; determining that the secondhuman's location is still in the second space, the determining notcorresponding to locating a fiducial element carried by the second humanacting as a proxy for the second human; and altering the instructionbased on the first human being in the second space and the second humanbeing in the second space.

In an embodiment of the above method, the controlled system is anenvironmental control system of the structure.

In an embodiment of the above method, the instruction comprisesinstructing the environmental control system to alter an environmentwithin the first space and instructing the environmental control systemto alter an environment in the second space.

In an embodiment of the above method, the altering of the instructioncomprises instructing the environmental control system to alter anenvironment within the second space and sending additionally instructingthe environmental control system to alter the environment in the firstspace.

In an embodiment of the above method, upon the first human entering thesecond space, a voice response system issues a query audible in thesecond space but not in the first space.

In an embodiment of the above method, the altering of instruction onlyoccurs if the second human and not the first human responds to thequery.

In an embodiment, the above method further comprises tracking movementof the first human from the second space to the first space within thestructure the tracking not corresponding to tracking the location of afiducial element carried by the first human acting as a proxy for thefirst human; determining that the second human's location is still inthe second space, the determining not corresponding to locating afiducial element carried by the second human acting as a proxy for thesecond human; and altering the instruction based on the first humanreturning to the first space and the second human remaining in thesecond space.

In an embodiment of the above method, the instruction is altered by thefirst human returning to the first space to the instruction before theinstruction was altered by the first human moving into the second space.

In an embodiment of the above method, the instruction is altered onlyafter the first human has remained in the second space for apredetermined period of time.

In an embodiment of the above method, the controlled system comprises asecurity system wherein said security system indicates an intrusion intosaid first space or said second space by a third human different fromsaid first human or said second human.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A through 1J show operation of the system at a variety ofdiscrete times each representing a different scenario based on humanoccupation.

FIG. 2 shows a specific occupation scenario involving a large number ofindividual humans.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following detailed description and disclosure illustrates by way ofexample and not by way of limitation. This description will clearlyenable one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed systems andmethods, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations,alternatives and uses of the disclosed systems and methods. As variouschanges could be made in the above constructions without departing fromthe scope of the disclosures, it is intended that all matter containedin the description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Generally speaking, described herein, among other things, are systemsand methods which allow for IoT systems, such as those used for home orother building automation, to initiate communication, or make decisionsas to operation, by using detected presence of a human in a networkwithout fiducial elements. Basically, the systems and methods utilizevarious technologies to detect that a human, humans, or a particularhuman user are currently occupying a space, as opposed to detecting afiducial element representing the human is in the space, and these allowthe system to proactively initiate communication or take specificactions based on that presence. As such, the present systems provide fora much more reactive experience and eliminate the on/off binary responsepreviously available.

The systems and methods discussed herein need to utilize detectionsystems which do not require or use a fiducial element as a proxy to“detect” a human user and do not require a human user to initiatecommunication. By this it is meant that the detection methods andsystems used by the systems herein have to detect that there is apresence in a defined space (e.g. a room of a building) which isdetermined to be a human (or a particular human) through an action otherthan detecting an electronic device which the human is expected to becarrying or to have with them and other than the human self-identifyingthemselves to the machine.

These detection systems are referred to as Network Presence Sensing (orNPS) systems herein. The primary NPS systems and methods for doing thisherein are preferably those described in U.S. patent application Ser.Nos. 15/600,380 and 15/227,717, the entire disclosures of which areherein incorporated by reference, and this type of detection system willbe used throughout the examples of this disclosure. However, one ofordinary skill will understand that other systems and methods can beused to detect the presence of a human, or a particular human, to whichthe system can proactively initiate communication or action based onthat presence.

A key aspect of NPS systems of the type contemplated for use herein istheir granularity. As discussed in the above referenced patentdocuments, it is important that an NPS system detect an actual human,not a fiducial element which is used to proxy a human. A further elementis that the NPS system be able to differentiate the presence of multiplehumans from the presence of a single human. In effect, an NPS system ofuse in the present systems and methods needs to know where any human iswithin its sensing area and if a human is or is not within the sensingarea. Traditional systems based on “sensing” humans (e.g. motiondetectors) are not able to do this as they cannot differentiate signalsand simply can tell only if at least one human (or something thought tobe human) is present.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “computer” describes hardware whichgenerally implements functionality provided by digital computingtechnology, particularly computing functionality associated withmicroprocessors. The term “computer” is not intended to be limited toany specific type of computing device, but it is intended to beinclusive of all computational devices including, but not limited to:processing devices, microprocessors, personal computers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, workstations, terminals, servers, clients,portable computers, handheld computers, smart phones, tablet computers,mobile devices, server farms, hardware appliances, minicomputers,mainframe computers, video game consoles, handheld video game products,and wearable computing devices including but not limited to eyewear,wrist-wear, pendants, and clip-on devices.

As used herein, a “computer” is necessarily an abstraction of thefunctionality provided by a single computer device outfitted with thehardware and accessories typical of computers in a particular role. Byway of example and not limitation, the term “computer” in reference to alaptop computer would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the artto include the functionality provided by pointer-based input devices,such as a mouse or track pad, whereas the term “computer” used inreference to an enterprise-class server would be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art to include the functionality provided byredundant systems, such as RAID drives and dual power supplies.

It is also well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that thefunctionality of a single computer may be distributed across a number ofindividual machines. This distribution may be functional, as wherespecific machines perform specific tasks; or, balanced, as where eachmachine is capable of performing most or all functions of any othermachine and is assigned tasks based on its available resources at apoint in time. Thus, the term “computer” as used herein, can refer to asingle, standalone, self-contained device or to a plurality of machinesworking together or independently, including without limitation: anetwork server farm, “cloud” computing system, software-as-a-service, orother distributed or collaborative computer networks.

Those of ordinary skill in the art also appreciate that some deviceswhich are not conventionally thought of as “computers” neverthelessexhibit the characteristics of a “computer” in certain contexts. Wheresuch a device is performing the functions of a “computer” as describedherein, the term “computer” includes such devices to that extent.Devices of this type include but are not limited to: network hardware,print servers, file servers, NAS and SAN, load balancers, and any otherhardware capable of interacting with the systems and methods describedherein in the matter of a conventional “computer.”

Throughout this disclosure, the term “software” refers to code objects,program logic, command structures, data structures and definitions,source code, executable and/or binary files, machine code, object code,compiled libraries, implementations, algorithms, libraries, or anyinstruction or set of instructions capable of being executed by acomputer processor, or capable of being converted into a form capable ofbeing executed by a computer processor, including without limitationvirtual processors, or by the use of run-time environments, virtualmachines, and/or interpreters. Those of ordinary skill in the artrecognize that software can be wired or embedded into hardware,including without limitation onto a microchip, and still be considered“software” within the meaning of this disclosure. For purposes of thisdisclosure, software includes without limitation: instructions stored orstorable in RAM, ROM, flash memory BIOS, CMOS, mother and daughter boardcircuitry, hardware controllers, USB controllers or hosts, peripheraldevices and controllers, video cards, audio controllers, network cards,Bluetooth™ and other wireless communication devices, virtual memory,storage devices and associated controllers, firmware, and devicedrivers. The systems and methods described here are contemplated to usecomputers and computer software typically stored in a computer- ormachine-readable storage medium or memory.

Throughout this disclosure, terms used herein to describe or referencemedia holding software, including without limitation terms such as“media,” “storage media,” and “memory,” may include or excludetransitory media such as signals and carrier waves.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “network” generally refers tovoice, data, or other telecommunications network over which computerscommunicate with each other. The term “server” generally refers to acomputer providing a service over a network, and a “client” generallyrefers to a computer accessing or using a service provided by a serverover a network. Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat the terms “server” and “client” may refer to hardware, software,and/or a combination of hardware and software, depending on context.Those having ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that theterms “server” and “client” may refer to endpoints of a networkcommunication or network connection, including but not necessarilylimited to a network socket connection. Those having ordinary skill inthe art will further appreciate that a “server” may comprise a pluralityof software and/or hardware servers delivering a service or set ofservices. Those having ordinary skill in the art will further appreciatethat the term “host” may, in noun form, refer to an endpoint of anetwork communication or network (e.g., “a remote host”), or may, inverb form, refer to a server providing a service over a network (“hostsa website”), or an access point for a service over a network.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “real time” refers to softwareoperating within operational deadlines for a given event to commence orcomplete, or for a given module, software, or system to respond, andgenerally invokes that the response or performance time is, in ordinaryuser perception and considered the technological context, effectivelygenerally cotemporaneous with a reference event. Those of ordinary skillin the art understand that “real time” does not literally mean thesystem processes input and/or responds instantaneously, but rather thatthe system processes and/or responds rapidly enough that the processingor response time is within the general human perception of the passageof real time in the operational context of the program. Those ofordinary skill in the art understand that, where the operational contextis a graphical user interface, “real time” normally implies a responsetime of no more than one second of actual time, with milliseconds ormicroseconds being preferable. However, those of ordinary skill in theart also understand that, under other operational contexts, a systemoperating in “real time” may exhibit delays longer than one second,particularly where network operations are involved.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “transmitter” refers to equipment,or a set of equipment, having the hardware, circuitry, and/or softwareto generate and transmit electromagnetic waves carrying messages,signals, data, or other information. A transmitter may also comprise thecomponentry to receive electric signals containing such messages,signals, data, or other information, and convert them to suchelectromagnetic waves. The term “receiver” refers to equipment, or a setof equipment, having the hardware, circuitry, and/or software to receivesuch transmitted electromagnetic waves and convert them into signals,usually electrical, from which the message, signal, data, or otherinformation may be extracted. The term “transceiver” generally refers toa device or system that comprises both a transmitter and receiver, suchas, but not necessarily limited to, a two-way radio, or wirelessnetworking router or access point. For purposes of this disclosure, allthree terms should be understood as interchangeable unless otherwiseindicated; for example, the term “transmitter” should be understood toimply the presence of a receiver, and the term “receiver” should beunderstood to imply the presence of a transmitter.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “detection network” refers to awireless network used in the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure to detect the presence of biological mass interposed withinthe communications area of the network. A detection network may usegeneral networking protocols and standards and may be, but is notnecessarily, a special-purpose network. That is, while the nodes in thenetwork could be deployed for the specific purpose of setting up awireless detection network according to the present invention, they neednot be and generally will not be. Ordinary wireless networks establishedfor other purposes may be used to implement the systems and methodsdescribed herein. In an embodiment, the detection network uses aplurality of Bluetooth™ Low Energy nodes, but the present disclosure isnot limited to such nodes. Each node acts as a computer with anappropriate transmitter and receiver for communicating over the network.Each of the computers provides a unique identifier within the networkwhenever transmitting a message such that a receiving computer iscapable of discerning from where the message originated. Such messageorigination information will usually be critical to the functioning ofthe invention as described in this detailed description. The receivingcomputer then analyzes the incoming signal properties, including but notlimited to, signal strength, bit error rate, and message delay. Thedetection network may be a mesh network, which means a network topologyin which each node relays data from the network.

Throughout this disclosure, the term “node” refers to a start point orendpoint for a network communication, generally a device having awireless transceiver and being a part of a detection network. Nodes aregenerally standalone, self-contained networking devices, such aswireless routers, wireless access points, short-range beacons, and soforth. A node may be a general-purpose device or a special-purposedevice configured for use in a detection network as described herein. Byway of example and not limitation, a node may be a device having thewireless transmission capabilities of an off-the-shelf wirelessnetworking device with the addition of specialized hardware, circuitry,componentry, or programming for implementing the systems and methodsdescribed herein; that is, for detecting significant changes to signalproperties, including but not limited to, signal strength, bit errorrate, and message delay. Within a detection network, each node can actas both a transmitter of signal to the network, as well as a receiverfor other nodes to push information. In the preferred embodiment, thenodes utilize Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) as a wireless networkingsystem.

Throughout this disclosure, the terms “space” and “detection area” referto an area created by two or more nodes inside of which a human may bedetected using Network Presence Sensing technology. Generally, suchterms refer to well defined spaces such as rooms in a dwelling; however,the definition is not limited to such configurations. A given “space” or“detection area” exists anywhere that two or more nodes are configuredto operate in accordance with the invention described herein. Such“spaces” or “detection areas” may exist as a subset of a room, an entireroom, multiple rooms, multiple parts of rooms, entire floors, entirebuildings, and any other spatial configuration possible givencombinations of two or more nodes.

The present disclosure primarily detects a human user(s) using NetworkPresence Sensing (NPS) technology such as that contemplated in U.S.patent application Ser. Nos. 15/600,380 and 15/227,717 the entiredisclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. In thesetechnologies, it is possible to detect the presence of an individualhuman and, thus, a specific number of humans, in a detection areacreated by a series of nodes. This detection capability provides animportant sensing input to automation systems of the present case todetermine location of any human. As is discussed in the above referencedapplications this detection of occupancy is performed without fiducialelements being required and without the need of the human user toself-identify. The human user is identified as being in a space simplyby them being there.

In the present case, it should be recognized that the term “occupation”in association with presence in a structure simply requires the human tobe present in an area and does not imply that they specifically live,work, reside, or intend to stay there. Instead it requires the humanuser to simply be in a specific known area where the system controlssomething at a time the system wishes to know if humans are in thatarea. To put this another way, “occupation” is used herein to indicatethat the human's location is generally known without the human user'sposition being assumed based on their proximity to a fiducial elementassociated with them and that known position places them generally in anarea that the system controls some factor of. This factor will oftenrelate to environmental or security features of the space as these areoften the most dependent on specific human identification to implementin an effective manner.

With regards to environmental controls, most environmental controls areintended to improve the livability of an area for human users andmaintaining such improved livability is often one of the primaryexpenses of a space. As such, there is a benefit to knowing when thereare humans present in an area where the environment can be controlledand how many humans are present as an increased human occupancygenerally results in warming of the area (due to the fact that humansgive off heat) and often an increased need for air circulation andventilation (due to human respiration).

To put it simply, temperature control, artificial light, and ventilationare generally most wasteful in areas that humans only occasionallyoccupy. While it is specifically wasteful to operate environmentalcontrols when no humans are occupying a space, environmental controlsinclude a lead up and down time and much of the waste actually occurs ifthere is an inaccurate transition based on occupancy which doesn'tmaterialize. If human occupation in a space is permanent, maintainingconstant environmental control for human benefit is efficient. However,if spaces are only occasionally occupied or occupied in differentamounts at different times, providing environmental control when thereis no one there is unnecessary and costs can be saved if the space candetermine how many people are present, and “intuit” what type of loadthat presents for the system both currently, and in the future based ontheir expected occupancy.

FIGS. 1A through 1J provide for a general indication of how anenvironmental control system of the present disclosure can operate. Thesystem (100) in these FIGS. comprises a multi-room structure with tworooms (101) and (103) and a hallway (105) with the exterior doortherein. The two rooms (101) and (103) provided herein have individualenvironmental controls (301) and (303) and therefore can have theirtemperature controlled individually and are intended to be indicative ofindividual offices in an office building. The hall (105) also has anenvironmental control system (305). The system (100) further includes acentral controller (107). The central controller (107) will generallycomprise a computer running appropriate software, or a hard-wiredcomputer system, which is interconnected to the detection network (111)for detecting individual humans and the environmental systems (301) and(303). This may be via a network or by other forms of communication. Thecentral controller (107) may be onsite at the structure, or may beremote.

In the first time period, both rooms (101) and (103) are empty as shownin FIG. 1A and no humans are detected by the detection network (111).With regards to the present systems and methods, the detection network(111) can provide the detection of no presence which indication willresult in the central controller (107) turning the environmental systems(301) and (303) off. Further, this particular scenario may involvearrangements such as arming the system (100).

At a later time a first human (201) enters the structure. Thisindividual is detected in the hallway (105) as shown in FIG. 1B, and atthis time the central controller (107) knows that some environmentalcontrol needs to be activated to deal with expected occupancy. However,from FIG. 1B, it may not be apparent which room (101) or (103) toactivate the control in as it is unclear which office (101) or (103)belongs to the first human (201). Because of the uncertainty, thecentral controller (107) may simply activate both systems (301) and(303) or may initiate a query to the first human (201) using a voiceresponse system (109).

As shown in FIG. 1C, the first human (201) has entered the first room(101) and ceased moving. The system therefore shuts of the system forroom (103) (if it had turned it on) and increases the power to room(101) as the human has now been determined to be occupying room (101)and does not appear to be leaving soon. In addition, as the structure isnow occupied, the system also activates the environmental control to thecommon area, hallway (105).

At a further time, as illustrated in FIG. 1D, a second human (203) isdetected in the hallway (105). The system (101) presumes that this isthe occupant of the second office (103) as the first office (101) isalready occupied and activates the environmental controls in the secondoffice (103). There is no need to activate the environmental control(305) for the hallway (105) as it is already under activatedenvironmental control due to the presence of the first human (201) inthe structure. As opposed to what is expected, the second user (203),however, also goes into the first room (101) as shown in FIG. 1E. Whilethis is unusual, the system (100) would know that one of the humans(201) and (203) will likely soon go into the second room (103). Thesystem may therefore initiate environmental controls in the second room(103) but allow them to run at a lower power level. The second human(203) does go into the second room in FIG. 1F. In this scenario, thesystem (100) may respond by increasing the environmental change in thesecond room (103).

At a much later time, the office is getting ready to close. At this timethe second human (203) leaves room (103) and goes into room (101) asshown in FIG. 1G. In this scenario, the central controller (107) doesnot shut off the environmental control to room (103) as it is not yetclear if person (203) is leaving. However, as shown in FIG. 1H, theperson (203) does go into the hallway (105) and depart the structure.Upon person (203) leaving the structure, the system (100) will shut downthe environmental control to room (103) and allow the conditions tobegin to return to ambient in room (103).

In FIG. 1I, the first human (201) gets up and goes to room (203).Because the human (201) is not expected to remain here, the system (100)may not adjust the control of room (201) or (203). However, as shown inFIG. 1I, the person (201) has remained in room (203) for a period oftime. At this time, it is now unclear if person (201) or person (203)actually left in FIG. 1H. Due to the lack of clarity, the system (100)may utilize the voice unit (109) to query person (201) if they intend toremain in room (203). In this scenario, the answer is in the negative.Based on the answer, the system (100) makes no alteration to the currentenvironmental control.

In FIG. 1J, the person (201) enters the hallway (105) and leaves thestructure. The system (100) can now determine that there are no personsin the structure any longer and shuts down all the environmentalcontrols (301), (303), and (305) returning the system to the state ofFIG. 1A.

In this very simple example a few key points can be illustrated. Thefirst is that the system can alter controls for specific areas of thestructure based on occupancy. Specifically, traditional systems wouldhave been unable to activate the second room's (103) controls while thefirst human was in the hallway and then deactivate them when the firsthuman went and stayed in the first room. The traditional system wouldhave activated either both or neither from the hallway detection.Further, a traditional system would have been unable to detect thedeparture of only person (203) from the first room and only shut downthe controls (303) to room (103). Finally, a traditional system wouldhave been unable to query the person (201) in room (103) as to if theywere actually going to remain there.

While this simple example shows just two users and two rooms, it shouldbe apparent that in a large structure with multiple occupants (such as alarge commercial office building) this type of granular control can berepeated over and over for each individual human detected in thestructure. Further, the system can provide additional functionality.Take for Example FIG. 2, where there are now a large number of human'sin the first room (101) and it is likely heating up quickly due to theirpresence. If an NPS system detects a large influx of people into aspace, it could prompt via a voice recognition input asking if a human(201) would like to adjust the thermostat to account for the increasedoccupancy or could simply do so to maintain a fixed temperature in theroom (101). It may even do this while not adjusting the temperature inthe second room (103) or it may draw power away from the environmentalcontrol (303) and/or (305) to additionally power control (301) as thereis currently no one detected in room (103) or hallway (105). This, forexample, could allow the system to automatically detect a meeting inroom (103) and move resources to the meeting room (103) away from otherspace (101) and (105). Such shifting of resources can avoid overloadingenvironmental systems on days where there is particularly high demand incertain areas.

Similarly, the system could ask for instruction if a human was movingaround a great deal within the space or was detected at an odd hour. Thesystem could request instructions if the user would like to control theHVAC system for all the areas they are in or only some of them, or ifthey are not planning to occupy the space for a large enough period oftime to justify turning the system on.

As should be apparent from the above examples, by being able to detectthe presence of a human, multiple humans, or a specific human within thespace, and to detect changes in patterns of occupation, the HVAC systemdoes not need to simply turn on and off, but can request instruction, orsimply alter operation, based on the circumstances of the occupancy.Thus, increased occupancy can result in a different query or operationthan an odd-hour occupancy, which can result in a still differentinquiry (or no inquiry at all) if the occupancy is what is expected. Thekey to all the above is that detection of actual occupancy allows thesystem to initiate communication to the human user in a way that has notpreviously been available or to react based on a non-binary decision.

Another example integration would be that an NPS system can notify anHVAC system as to whether a structure is occupied or not at the level ofan entire space. This may be provided based upon the presence detectionlevel or functionality, but may additionally be estimated based upon achange detection type system integrated with the NPS system. A changedetection system operating over an entire structure may be used as anNPS system because most structures only have a few access points fromthe outside world. In this way, it would be possible to limit the system(100) to changing state only when changes are detected in spaces withaccess to the outside world. Further, such a system (100) may beprogrammed to query users in those spaces, using voice or other means,as to if and when they intend to exit the structure. It may further bepossible to query if they are leaving the structure unoccupied, to avoidany issues with other sleeping/static occupants if they cannot bedetected for some reason.

Using the true presence detection level of functionality, it is possibleto tell an environmental system not only whether a structure is occupiedor not, but how much occupation is occurring and where it is occurringwithin the structure. Such data may be integrated into a mixedproactive/reactive system, where such a system may predict the presenceor absence of a human in a particular location based on historical data,while additionally reacting to detected changes under normal operations.For example, it may determine that typically a structure is empty from 8pm until 6 am but that the structure has a slow influx and outflux ofindividuals leading up to those times. This would be typical of anoffice building during a weekday. From that, the system can form atypical schedule around such information and adjust environmentalcontrols to maintain a near constant temperature over the window ofoccupancy including appropriate lead-up to occupancy and fall-off ofoccupancy.

Should someone have a day off and stay home, such a presence system maydetect that the structure is less occupied or that specific areas (forexample a specific office) is unoccupied, allowing the environmentalsystem to react accordingly. Similarly, such data would allow a systemto adjust to people arriving later in the morning, but also to peopleleaving for home later, such as if an office party kept more employeeslate a certain day.

Such a system can also be used in a complementary fashion in a home. Thesystem could prepare for a home arrival by achieving a temperature a fewdegrees away from desired, as distinct from the deep setback when thestructure is predicted to be empty, and simply adjust the last fewdegrees when occupancy is detected.

Furthermore, should occupancy for an entire structure be determined, itwould be possible for the environmental system to more appropriatelyrespond to the number of persons present. Such an action would beparticularly useful during summers when environmental systems oftenstruggle to cope appropriately with large gatherings and are often setvery low to cool the structure to an uncomfortably low temperature priorto the group's arrival. By estimating that occupancy of the structure isgetting larger, such a system may be able to react more intelligently tosuch demands compared with how such a system would respond without theknowledge provided by an occupancy count estimate.

Another example integration would be with a room by room environmentalsystem, with one or more possible improvements to such a system beingpossible with a network presence sensing system. Generally speaking,these are similar to those which are possible on a whole structurebasis, but providing additional benefits depending on the level offunctionality provided by the system (100). This benefit becomes greaterwhen each room is additionally associated with some determination ofoccupancy count. Looking at the pure occupancy case, it is possible tobuild use cases wherein occupied rooms are maintained at an appropriatetemperature while unoccupied rooms are allowed a greater level oftemperature fluctuation, such as to allow for power draw adjustment andreduce the overall draw of a structure over time. Further, in systemswhere individual spaces may be activated and deactivated, savings may beachieved through such means.

Providing such a space with an estimated count of the number of peopleinside provides additional opportunities for systems. In a structure, itmay allow for the user to better adjust the manual vents to accommodateareas being used, or an automated system may better handle dynamicloading of various rooms. In a commercial setting, the number of peoplein a space allows for a variable air volume (VAV) system to adjustairflow according to the number of people present.

As should be apparent, the ability to detect presence in thiscircumstances cannot be reliant on fiducial identification of humans. Ifthe system wants to detect that multiple humans are present in thespace, the ability to detect the fiducial element of the translator ofthe user is useless as likely only one human could ever be identifiedunless they were specifically associated with the system (100). Further,fiducial elements in the space do not necessary tell a complete story.Even if the system (100) could detect every smartphone in the space, thesystem (100) may not have an accurate count of occupancy. For example, auser may leave a smartphone in their office on a charger when they go toa firm party as they know they will not need it and do not want to havethe possible distraction it presents. This inaccurately positions theperson in the building and would result in temperature being maintainedin their office, and their load in the conference room not being takeninto account.

From a security standpoint to make sure that the person is authorized toalter environmental controls, if a request for information was made bythe system a system (such as in FIG. 1I) the system (100) couldautomatically arm when a space (e.g. room (103)) has been fully emptied,and prompt for some form of pass phrase when presence is detected whilesuch a system is armed. The passphrase may be recognized as a password,or in other embodiments may be a direct result of a voice print from aperson or from the detection of the system that the particularauthorized individual is in the room. For example, an office may havethe environmental system deactivated when the known office user leavesthe entire structure. Thus, if an assistant was to enter the office todrop off some papers, the assistant would not cause the environmentalsystem in the office to startup again as they are likely not remainingin the office for any period of time or a query may be presented to seeif they intend to stay in the office.

Inferred presence may also be added to the system through third partyinteractions with the system, including but not limited to switchactuation, contact sensors, third party motion detectors, human reactionto system changes, etc. Such inferred presence may serve as additionaltraining information for the system (100) or assist the system (100) inmaking sure it has an accurate count of occupancy and presence.

While environmental and comfort control is one way in which presencesensing can provide for dramatically improved communication and machineinterpretation, another interesting application is in the securityrealm. Security systems typically require identification of individuals,and generally making sure that specific individuals are where they areallowed to be, and not where they are not allowed to be.

Use of fiducial elements present a major concern for security in asecured structure but they are near ubiquitous out of necessity. In afirst instance, fiducial elements may simply be lost or stolen, posing agaping security hole. Even in the event that fiducial elements aresufficiently secured themselves to provide increased likelihood ofproximity to only the authorized human, the need to correctly cancelfiducial elements from a system (such as at termination of an employee)can still be great and “faked credentials” will always exist if there isa reason to want to use them.

Presence sensing can provide for a drastically improved securitymechanism as it allows for electronic security systems to actuallylocate target humans. Even if humans cannot be individuallydistinguished by the system at an individual level (e.g. the systemknows there is one human, but not who it is), the ability to detect thepresence of a specific number of humans within spaces provides for amuch more rigorous security system. Previously, fiducial elements wereonly generally used (and required identification) when the elementpassed between spaces (e.g. it controlled the lock to a door). Withpresence sensing the location of humans can be determined even when thatlocation is static (not moving or transitioning between spaces). Thus, adoor could now sense if a second human enters behind a first authorizedone or if an individual seems to be moving in a path that is notauthorized.

From a whole structure perspective, the systems and methods discussedherein can determine currently occupied spaces, and upon arming thesystem only allow occupancy transitions from adjacent spaces, flaggingnew entrants as possible intruders into the system if there is adetermination of a presence in a space that had not been previouslydetected in an adjacent space. In this way, it would be possible to havethe entire structure covered by security, while allowing normaloccupancy within the structure without need for a user to present a scancard or similar fiducial element translator to pass through a doorway.

In a home setting, the system could be armed when occupants are in theirbedrooms, and track them as the move around the home. Should a newdetection be made in an exterior facing area where there was notpreviously presence, the system could trigger an alert; however, anoccupant from within the home entering any space from an adjacent areawould be normal and not trigger the alarm. This provides the system withthe ability to act as intelligent security system for the home whenarmed, even with occupants being in the home and the system's armednature being transparent to them.

Such a system could work on adjacency principles (that humans willalways move along an unbroken path), or on an overall count of people inthe home. Changes to the count could signal an intruder, or at the veryleast prompt for a pass phrase. Such a system would go beyond the stateof the art in a normal security system by providing whole home coveragewhile occupied, something that is impossible with traditional motiondetector based technologies in most security systems since they operatein a binary mode related to detection of any human or detection of nohumans.

Integration of NPS data on whole home scale allows for interestinglocalization integrations, particularly as they relate to triggeredevents for home automation type scenarios. By way of example and notlimitation, if a home is integrated with a system (100) and a user wouldlike to flash the lights when the doorbell is rung, it would be possibleto localize the lights to be flashed only in the room in which thatperson is present. Further, a hearing-impaired person could be providedlocalized alerts for items such as phone calls without having to carryany hardware with them because the system (100) knows where they are andwithout the specialized alerts being provided to any other occupant.Thus, an alert for an incoming call could simply flicker the smartlights in an occupied space as opposed to in an entire house.

Location based data could additionally be used at the home scale forproximity marketing opportunities, possibly asking occupants if theywant to add anything to the grocery list because they're in the kitchen,recommending television programs when in the living room, or providingcoupons/suggestions for things to do on the weekend when enteringcertain rooms. Further, third party organizations may harvest anonymizedlocation data correlated with purchasing trends to try and unlockpurchase patterns for those that use their structures in certain ways.For example, are people more likely to order products from a mobiledevice while sitting at a table, on a couch, or in bed. Such activitiesmay provide market insights which could be used to enhance product andadvertising offerings based on structure usage patterns.

As an example, people who spend a lot of time in bed on a given day maybe offered medication to get over being sick, while homes which have oneless person during the week may offer various travel specials to itsoccupants. In essence, the integration of network presence sensingalongside voice recognition provides another opportunity for datacollection and advertising based on that data which would have not beenpreviously possible. Such features may be opt-in or default on dependingon the integrator of the technology. Voice recognition and audio basedinteractions provide a new medium to apply such advertising which isenabled using network presence sensing technology.

Another potential interaction is for the system to recognize that a homeis empty when it is expected to be occupied, particularly for a longerperiod. Such a situation could indicate a family has gone on vacation,for instance, and the system may attempt to contact a family member tolet them know that lights were left on or that the garage door is stillopen. Similarly, if a system detects that a previously occupiedstructure is no longer occupied, a stove may be turned off to reduce oreliminate a potential fire hazard. In a related situation, for anindividual with known memory problems, the system detecting theindividual leaving the residence could initiate a prompt instructingthem not to leave and if it is not followed, take defensive action suchas notifying caregivers and eliminating any danger scenarios that nowexist in the residence such as shutting off potentially hazardousdevices within the home.

In sum, the ability to detect presence can allow a system controllingvarious smart “objects” in a home to “intuit” that the present scenarioin the home may not correspond to what is expected given the currenthuman presence. This can then trigger an inquiry initiated by the systemto the human users that has not previously been possible, or allow thesystem to simply react without human instruction. In all of thesescenarios the key is that the system is detecting that the humanpresence detected does not correspond to the human presence expected forthe particular mode or operation that the system is currently operatingin.

Another example integration includes causing certain interactions basedon occupancy given the presence of a fire alarm or other emergencysituation. Such situations may include flashing the lights or changingtheir color to signify a fire, illuminating paths out of buildings basedon room occupancy at the time of a fire and turning off lights in spaceswhich have been cleared. In an embodiment, the system could even detectthat a presence has remained in a location even though such person wouldclearly have known there is a fire and the system can initiate directcommunication to them or direct emergency crews to that location on theexpectation the person may be trapped or injured. Similarly, detectionof presence of an individual moving in an erratic fashion (e.g. back andforth) may indicate that they are trapped or cannot locate an exit andthe system may initiate additional communication. In short, the buildingcould respond in a fashion in a time of crisis based upon the actualneeds of human occupants based on their location within the structure.Such a system could dynamically route people in the building around theareas where the fire has been detected allow for much more personalizedescape plans.

Another example integration includes integrating exterior door locksbased on occupancy data, possibly integrated with time of day. In such ascenario, it would be possible to have door locks engaged in the event ahome is empty, and only allow locks to disengage in the event that aperson is present within a room adjacent to those locks. Further,automatically locking the door when the home is no longer occupied isalso a possibility. Such a system could keep the home secure whileappearing transparent to the user when using the system allowing them tocome and go from a secure house without them needing to lock the doors.

Another example integration would be to perform room by room security,where certain rooms can be entered only under certain conditionsallowing access control to individual spaces in a home. For example, ifchildren are supposed to stay out of their parents' bedroom unless theparents are there, and the parents' bedroom is currently unoccupied, adetected occupancy could prompt for a passphrase, and if an appropriateone is not entered the system could alert the parents that anunauthorized access has occurred including the time of the unauthorizedaccess. However, if there is already someone in the parents bedroom, theadditional occupancy could be allowed without concern.

Another example integration would be to allow for whole home styleoutlet control, where if a home is not occupied then selected smartoutlets could be commanded to turn off. This could significantly reducethe so-called vampire loads associated with leaving chargers plugged induring the day when nobody is home and the devices are not being usedfor charging. The reason for making this a whole home occupancyrelationship rather than a room by room relationship would be forcharging devices in other rooms. Thus, charging a smart device in thekitchen while sleeping would work, but such a device would not becharging, or powered off, during the day when nobody is present in thehome. With energy monitoring within the outlets, it would be furtherpossible to detect the load going through a given outlet and decidewhether such a load should be allowed when nobody is in the home. Thiscould provide benefits including but not limited to: energy savings andfire hazard reduction.

Another example integration would be to allow mobile devices or othercomputers communicating with the network to exist not only as additionalnodes on a communication network, but additionally as both inferredinputs as well as possible voice input locations for the system. Sincemany computing devices contain wireless communication devices, suchwireless communication devices can act as nodes within a wirelesscommunication network providing network diagnostic information toperform detections. Further, the presence of a person may be inferredthrough interactions including but not limited to typing, clicking ahuman interface device, or interacting with a touchscreen. Beyondinferred presence, such devices are often coupled with a microphone orother audio listening capability. As such, a personal computer could beutilized as another voice recognition system, prompting for a passphrasefor a security system as described herein or otherwise allowing thevoice recognition system to respond based upon presence flags.

Another example integration would be to allow the system (100) to shareoccupancy count information with other systems, allowing for furtherpossibilities with regards to responding to people in a space. By way ofexample and not limitation, it may be possible to suggest when a room(or an elevator) is getting too full by flashing the lights, operate ina security mode based upon the current occupancy level of a home, notifya hospitality system of how many people have used a space, or limitfurther entry into a space by way of a controlled access point. Further,a user of a system could query for current occupancy levels, providingthem access to information about the occupancy of a space with a simplevoice command. Such a voice recognition system could further beprogrammed to notify incoming occupants of the current occupancy levelautomatically, letting them know if they are entering an occupied space.Such information could also be used socially to allow a person to knowan expected need to wait to enter a restaurant, club, or bar based onoccupancy levels in the structure or in a space designated for waitingoutside the structure.

Other example integrations may be possible with knowledge that anindividual is alone in a space. With such knowledge, a voice recognitionsystem may interact securely with an individual upon the identificationof the individual. Such interactions may relate to private events, giftgiving, quiet reminders, etc. depending on the preferences of the userof such a system. Further, they could allow for improved security whenentering payment (e.g. credit card) information into the system. Suchidentification may be done using more advanced features of a system(100) which identifies a given user based upon their specific impact ona wireless communication network or through the voice recognitionsystem. Such identification may be confirmed via passphrase or voiceprint. Such a system may proactively prompt the user for suchinformation by triggering from a network presence sensing system.Alternatively, a user may query a voice recognition system, which mayrespond with the fact that they are alone in case they want to query forspecific information.

While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a descriptionof certain embodiments, including those that are currently believed tobe preferred embodiments, the detailed description is intended to beillustrative and should not be understood to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art, embodiments other than those described in detail herein areencompassed by the present invention. Modifications and variations ofthe described embodiments may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a system based onoccupancy of a structure, the method comprising: locating a first humanin a first space within a structure by detecting said first human'spresence in said first space using network presence sensing (NPS), saidfirst human's detected location not corresponding to the location of afiducial element carried by said first human acting as a proxy for saidfirst human; locating a second human in said first space within astructure by detecting said second human's presence in said first spaceusing NPS, said second human's detected location not corresponding tothe location of a fiducial element carried by said second human actingas a proxy for said second human; instructing a system to take a firstaction based on said first human's and said second human's location insaid first space; tracking movement of said first human from said firstspace to a second space within said structure, said tracking using NPSand not corresponding to tracking the location of a fiducial elementcarried by said first human acting as a proxy for said first human;determining that said second human's location is still in said firstspace, said determining using NPS and not corresponding to locating afiducial element carried by said second human acting as a proxy for saidsecond human; and altering said instruction based on said first humanbeing in said second space and said second human being in said firstspace.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said controlled system is anenvironmental control system of said structure.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein said instruction comprises instructing said environmentalcontrol system to alter an environment within said first space withoutinstructing said environmental control system to alter an environment insaid second space.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said altering ofsaid instruction comprises instructing said environmental control systemto alter an environment within said second space without instructingsaid environmental control system to further alter said environment insaid first space.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein upon said first humanentering said second space, a voice response system issues a queryaudible in said second space but not in said first space.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein said altering of instruction only occurs if saidfirst human and not said second human responds to said query.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: tracking movement of said firsthuman from said second space to said first space within said structuresaid tracking using NPS and not corresponding to tracking the locationof a fiducial element carried by said first human acting as a proxy forsaid first human; determining that said second human's location is stillin said first space, said determining using NPS and not corresponding tolocating a fiducial element carried by said second human acting as aproxy for said second human; and altering said instruction based on saidfirst human returning to said first space and said second humanremaining in said first space.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein saidinstruction is altered by said first human returning to said first spaceto said instruction before said instruction was altered by said firsthuman being in said second space.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein saidinstruction is altered only after said first human has remained in saidsecond space for a predetermined period of time.
 10. The method of claim1 wherein said controlled system comprises a security system whereinsaid security system indicates an intrusion into said first space orsaid second space by a third human different from said first human orsaid second human.
 11. A method for controlling a system based onoccupancy of a structure, the method comprising: locating, using NPS, afirst human in a first space within a structure by detecting said firsthuman's presence in said first space, said first human's detectedlocation not corresponding to the location of a fiducial element carriedby said first human acting as a proxy for said first human; locating,using NPS, a second human in a second space within a structure bydetecting said second human's presence in said second space, said secondhuman's detected location not corresponding to the location of afiducial element carried by said second human acting as a proxy for saidsecond human; instructing a system to take a first action based on saidfirst human's location in said first space and said second human'slocation in said second space; tracking movement of said first humanfrom said first space to said second space said tracking using NPS andnot corresponding to tracking the location of a fiducial element carriedby said first human acting as a proxy for said first human; determiningthat said second human's location is still in said second space, saiddetermining using NPS and not corresponding to locating a fiducialelement carried by said second human acting as a proxy for said secondhuman; and altering said instruction based on said first human being insaid second space and said second human being in said second space. 12.The method of claim 11 wherein said controlled system is anenvironmental control system of said structure.
 13. The method of claim12 wherein said instruction comprises instructing said environmentalcontrol system to alter an environment within said first space andinstructing said environmental control system to alter an environment insaid second space.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said altering ofsaid instruction comprises instructing said environmental control systemto alter an environment within said second space and sendingadditionally instructing said environmental control system to alter saidenvironment in said first space.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein uponsaid first human entering said second space, a voice response systemissues a query audible in said second space but not in said first space.16. The method of claim 15 wherein said altering of instruction onlyoccurs if said second human and not said first human responds to saidquery.
 17. The method of claim 11 further comprising: tracking movementof said first human from said second space to said first space withinsaid structure said tracking using NPS and not corresponding to trackingthe location of a fiducial element carried by said first human acting asa proxy for said first human; determining that said second human'slocation is still in said second space, said determining using NPS andnot corresponding to locating a fiducial element carried by said secondhuman acting as a proxy for said second human; and altering saidinstruction based on said first human returning to said first space andsaid second human remaining in said second space.
 18. The method ofclaim 17 wherein said instruction is altered by said first humanreturning to said first space to said instruction before saidinstruction was altered by said first human moving into said secondspace.
 19. The method of claim 11 wherein said instruction is alteredonly after said first human has remained in said second space for apredetermined period of time.
 20. The method of claim 11 wherein saidcontrolled system comprises a security system wherein said securitysystem indicates an intrusion into said first space or said second spaceby a third human different from said first human or said second human.